Media Jobs Monthly Newsletter

March 9, 2011
Try to imagine a recruiting world without technology. Scary, right? New millennium tools have undoubtedly improved the ability to find, sort and search information, but let's not forget the real goal here: to connect with job seekers. You know, those human beings behind the resumes.

Conducting basic keyword searches to find the best candidates isn't cutting it anymore. Now it's about semantic searches that go beyond Boolean to look for related terms and concepts (check out The SuperComputer "Watson" from Jeopardy) and free recruiters to spend less time at the computer and more time talking with people. Establishing this strong focus on your target audience builds more meaningful relationships and provides an edge against competitors. Another strategy is to peek inside the latest talent communities to learn about the common interests of potential hires and to discover those who are already interested and engaged in your brand.

It's equally beneficial to keep a pulse on candidate behavior. One social media expert finds that people are more apt to Tweet your openings to their followers if you include a simple "please RT." (Who knew manners still existed on the Internet?) Meanwhile, Indeed is now beta testing a resume upload tool which could change how job seekers and recruiters use the site, and mobile technology has taken job hunting from Googling on smart phones to applying through iPad apps. So, make sure you're not ignoring those tech savvy job hunters in your outreach.

Finally think you've found the right person? Now, it's time to ask the right questions. To get the most insightful answers during a behavioral interview, pay attention to your phrasing. "What was an unexpected obstacle at work and how did you overcome it?" gives a better sense of someone's work ethic than "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

As you focus more on the human side of recruiting and getting to know the personalities of candidates, you may want to prepare yourself for creative applications. Craigslist already took down this ad from a copywriter. While the listing certainly got my attention, I'm just not sure how much usable copy could get written in six minutes -- unless he's finishing his thoughts with semantic searches.

Jacky Carter
Community Coordinator

Job Market Continues Slow Recovery (BLS)
The U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate fell a tenth of a percent to 8.9 percent, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows. This marks the fifth straight month in which the economy has added rather than shed jobs; an average of 160,000 jobs have been added each month since October 2010.

02/14/11 - The Day IBM's Watson Tapped Out The Boolean Cash Cow (Fistful of Talent)
Is Watson (the Jeopardy-playing computer) the next greatest recruiting tool? Maybe so. It knows how to find related concepts, so Boolean can be thrown out the window in favor of a smart search, freeing the sourcer to focus on the "fun stuff that involves actual human contact."

What IS A Talent Community Anyway? (RecruitingBlogs.com)
"Overshadowed only by marriage and buying a home, an individual's career is an extremely precious, vital commodity. It's also by and large, very much a private thing. It's not something to be shared with strangers online." Is this guy crazy or does he have a point?

How To Get Your Jobs Retweeted (ERE.net)
More than seven in 10 tweets produce no reaction, implying that the majority of job tweets fall on deaf ears. But there are some simple ways you can get your jobs to a wider audience. (One tip? Including "please RT" in your tweet. No joke.)

Indeed.com Testing Resume Uploads (ERE.net)
Indeed.com, which lets jobseekers search multiple job boards at once, is now letting users upload resumes to the site, which could be the first step from a pay-per-click model to a pay-per-post model. This hasn't yet bothered any job boards, which usually provide their jobs to Indeed for free. CEO Paul Forster added: "We have always seen job boards as partners and don't see that changing for any reason."

The Pros and Cons of Behavioral Interviewing (The Hiring Site)
Behavioral interviewing helps you get real-life examples to assess how someone will perform in a given role. But if you don't ask the questions properly, they're no better than any other style of interviewing. Leading questions, losing control, or not telling your own stories can derail an interview quickly.

Thorough Sourcing Part V (ERE.net)
Maureen Sharib presents another article about phone sourcing and what key pieces of information you can get out of even a reluctant "gatekeeper." Even one "well-trained guardian" dropped six data points on one phone call with Maureen. Read about how she does it at ERE.

Talent on the Go: Developing A Strategy For Mobile Recruiting Success (MonsterThinking)
You recruit online, on social media -- now you recruit on the iPad? Monster.com's mobile traffic has doubled in the past year. One reason: a lot of people are job-searching during business hours, and now they can do it without worrying that the company IT guy has his eyes on their computer. Don't let mobile pass you by!

Would You Hire This Guy? (MediaJobsDaily)
Here's a "cleverate" (half desperate, half clever) resume from a young copywriter who got some attention by posting a Craigslist ad titled "I Do Anything." It sounds at first like a literal ad for "anything," but it turns out it's actually a showcase of his copywriting skills. Would you hire this kid?

So What Do You Do, Cathy Hughes, Founder of TV One and Radio One? (mediabistro.com)
This broadcasting vet is differentiating her TV One network from competitors by focusing on the audience first. "When you're community-based, your audience knows that you're different than a facility that's there just to entertain them. So you have a different relationship, a more meaningful relationship. We literally outsold our competitors because although we were outresourced by them -- meaning they're much bigger with more money and more people -- they were not able to outservice us."